Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG -4.08%) (GOOGL -4.02%) is no stranger to artificial intelligence (AI). The technology giant made it a focus years ago, using AI to improve everything from its searches to its offerings to potential advertisers. And just last week, Alphabet wowed investors with its latest AI updates at its annual developer conference.

But the company didn't stop there. In fact, Alphabet's announcement at another conference yesterday may signal a major step in a billion-dollar, high-growth part of the AI market. I'm talking about healthcare AI. Alphabet's Google Cloud announced two new solutions that could be game-changers for biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Here's what investors need to know.

The key to drug discovery

Google Cloud said its Target and Lead Identification Suite and the Multiomics Suite now are both available worldwide. The first product helps scientists predict a protein's structure. This is the key to drug discovery. Once researchers understand a particular protein's structure, they can understand its role in disease. And that makes it easier to develop treatments targeting this protein.

The Multiomics suite deals with genomics -- so it could be particularly useful for companies working on personalized medicine or researchers hoping to make new discoveries based on the genome. The suite speeds up the discovery and analysis of data. Researchers can streamline their sharing of data and transform raw sequencing data into insights, for example.

The Target and Multiomics suites are game-changers for companies because they address two big challenges for healthcare: the time it takes to bring a product to market and the cost of that lengthy process. Bringing a drug from drawing board to market can take as long as 15 years. And that development process may cost $1 billion or more, according to the British Journal of Pharmacology.

These AI tools clearly could speed up the process -- and as a result, lower the costs involved in drug development. Colossal Biosciences has already started using the Multiomics Suite and noted a 52% reduction in costs. And the company said it cut time to complete a whole genome sequence analysis by 88%.

Making a difference in healthcare

These two elements can make an enormous difference for biotech and pharma companies. They can determine whether a company gets to the market first with a product, for instance. Or they can determine whether a company can afford to develop a particular candidate.

Finally, these tools may help reduce drug candidate failures along the development path. That's because, from the earliest days in the lab, researchers will have stronger data -- the data they need to select the best molecules to treat a particular disease.

As mentioned, Colossal is already using Google Cloud's new products. And so is big pharma company Pfizer, which is a key client for a couple of reasons. First, Pfizer is a major pharma player, with a market value of more than $200 billion. Second, Pfizer is aggressively working to bring new drugs to market as older blockbusters face the loss of exclusivity -- and as its coronavirus vaccine sales decline. If Google Cloud helps Pfizer score a win by speeding up its drug development, these AI platforms could truly take off.

It's important to remember that AI in healthcare isn't a niche market. It could actually be where AI makes one of its biggest marks. On the business side, it may cut costs and time to market. And on the patient side, it may lead to life-saving products. At a compound annual growth rate of 37%, the global AI healthcare market is expected to reach $188 billion by 2030, Statista data show.

What does this mean for Alphabet?

The company has made a bet on AI across its businesses. And these new developments in healthcare AI could be one of Alphabet's most significant AI steps yet.

While growth in Google's advertising revenue has slowed, revenue is on the rise at Google Cloud. The business's revenue advanced 28% in the most recent quarter. Amazon's Amazon Web Services (AWS) still remains the market leader by far. But a focus on healthcare AI might be the element to power Google Cloud's growth moving forward.

AWS recently said clients have reined in spending in the current market environment. But, as we look at Google Cloud's new AI platforms, we could imagine healthcare clients possibly increasing their spending. They need to develop new products to grow -- and if AI can help them get there faster and cheaper, it's a worthwhile investment.

This may not happen immediately. As drugmakers start to hear about benefits of using the tools, though, Google Cloud may see more and more of them knocking on its door. Of course, Google Cloud isn't the only game in town. AWS, too, is advancing in AI healthcare. But in this early stage of AI, there is room for more than one company to excel.

All of this means Alphabet and its investors have a big reason to cheer about the company's latest move in the world of AI.